User blog:Atlas Stratus/Bloodline
Something churned out of my mind once in a while, hopefully you enjoy it. Also, sorry for the crap formatting. (25/10/14) Prologue: Aisse Once, in the (mostly) peaceful town of Wafflesvale, there were three sisters, named Lynn, Lilian-Anne, and Lucy-Bridget. They were preparing for the biggest reward of all their hard work for the final exams-prom night! "Are you two slowpokes finished yet?" Lucy yelled. "We're gonna be late!" (27/10/14) Prologue: Introduction The three sisters slowly walked to their school for the prom. Lucy was being more enthusiastic than usual, remarking to pretty much everyone on the street about this night being 'the best she ever wil have'. Surprisingly, Lilian, who was much more demure, was also excited-an extreme rarity. And Lynn would have felt the same, if she did not so much stress weighing down on her. (30/10/14) Prologue: Entrance After about 10 minutes, they (or rather, Lucy) burst through the prom hall doors like a triad boss. All eyes on her as she walked to her two besties: Kurante, famous actress since young; and Cole, international shooting champion, with a pistol, no less. Lucy herself is one of the smartest and best-looking girls in the whole school. They are the envy of everyone around here, and well-respected as role models to boot. (1/11/14) Prologue: Entrance, pt. II The calm to Lucy's exuberance, Lilian naturally gravitated toward her more conservative peers. Of all of them, Naoko was her closest, and the only one at the prom (the others did not like the 'atmosphere' of the event). (3/11/14) Prologue: The Lost And as for Lynn... nobody wanted to be with her. A complex mix of social repression from her parents (because Lucy was a 'moral catastrophe'), comparatively average looks and white hair from all that social stress caused her to be isolationist and constantly afraid. She felt inferior in every way, constantly berating herself for not being good enough... This was no exception. She was the one here without any friends to be with. (6/11/14) Prologue: FUN! Soon, the party got real as guest stars Bro's entered the stage, much to the delight of the girls and the envy of the guys. They commanded the attention of the youths within the hall with their vigour and energy, making sure this was going to be the best night of the youths' lives. (8/11/14) Nope. In the following excitement, nobody noticed Lynn sneak away from the hall to the corridor. Before she began to silently chastise herself about 'comparative inferiority' again, a demonic figure, grey and spiny, teleported itself in front of Lynn, clenched her by the neck, murmured something about sacrifice, and teleported away, leaving absolutely nobody else any clue that she could be in grave danger. (10/11/14) A Danger... The next morning... Lucy stirred from a hangover from the night. Lilian was waiting impatiently and frightened beside her. She babbled something about Lynn being missing, followed by Lucy's immediate attention. The demon-thingy that abducted Lynn last night then teleported in, holding Lynn in a cage Lava Golem -style, and spoke, "THIS PATHETIC BEING WILL BE SACRIFICED. THE GOD-KING DEMANDS IT. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE." (13/11/14) Hunter Lucy and Lilian searched for anyone that could even help them rescue Lynn from...whatever this God-King thing was. However, everybody declined on grounds of 'busy-ness' or 'go home Lucy you're drunk'. Well, everyone except two people: Kurante, who wanted to explore every dangerous ground possible (since she was dangerous enough herself) and Cole, who sorely wanted to experiment with the physics of firearms without getting arrested. After about 5 minutes of planning (mostly from Lilian), they set off into the far north of the Boredom Tundra, in Kurante's private jet, using GPS coordinates helpfully given by, in Lucy's words, the Furry Fiend. (15/11/14) Tundra Through an hour of impatience, they reached the supposed place. It seemed unconvincing enough, appearing like just another cave in the Boredom Tundra, and those were plentiful. In fact, there were already at least 2 other caves near them. The four did not need to voice their confusion/frustration-it was apparent enough. Still, this was the only clue to where Lynn could be, and her possible rescue. They entered the nondescript cave somewhat begrudgingly, until Cole tripped over an icicle and sent all of them tumbling into the darkness... (17/11/13) The Master After an uncomfortably long tumble, the four landed in a throne room of sorts-exquisitely crafted ice sculptures, intelligible world dominion plans, various (and mostly female) servants, among other traits. In the far side of the room was a humanoid figure reclining in what resembled the Frozen Throne, clad in full plate armor obscuring any flesh that would have been visible (if any). To his right was the Furry Fiend, staring intently at them like a hunter, and to the left was Lynn, who was frozen in place up to her neck, but seemingly, not much fear on her face. Lucy could not stand seeing Lynn like this and rushed to the rescue, despite the other three trying to restrain her... (22/11/14) JENKINS Lucy's sudden charge alerted the God-King. He cast a Frost Nova that froze the four up to the waist, immobilising them. "What is the meaning of this incursion?!?" "We have come to rescue Lynn from your EVIL grasp!" The ice began to feel even colder. "You? A tumbling troupe of inconsequential mortals?" He laughed somewhat evilly. "Usually, at this point, I will make an example of my supremacy by your execution-but since you are so close to my prized possession... Reeves, seal them in the Hall of Stasis. They will see what I have in store for her for ETERNITY." (25/11/14) Escape The four were dragged, horribly roughly, up some stairs and were tossed into a fully transparent corridor, the only door out locking behind them. The Hall was designed so that its prisoners were subjected to eternal torment from watching all that they hold dear slowly crumble away helplessly - and Lucy was not keen on that happening to her. As the ice on her feet started to climb up her legs, as with the others, she had to act fast or be frozen forever. It was time to put activate her Birthright Ability: Emancipation. Her senses temporarily sharpened vastly, becoming more aware of her surroundings - and how to escape. (8/12/14) A Bit Of Revenge In a stunning display of agility, Lucy smashed every last shard of ice in the Hall of Stasis, then shattered the barrier between the Hall before leaping to the steps before the God-King's throne. The rest followed suit rather sloppily. The God-King contained his surprise. "Perhaps... I have underestimated you. Very well, you will all have the privilege of battling - and ultimately being defeated by - me." He stood up slowly. "Prepare to-" Lucy, Kurante and Cole jumped on him, to keep him occupied, while Lilian worked on breaking Lynn's restraints, while avoiding Reeves' oversized grasps. (14/12/14) Plan B Even with his near limitless power, the God-King could not fight off the three, and furthermore, Lilian has already broken all of Lynn's shackles. But he will not be defeated by these inconsequential fools - by any means necessary. "Reeves, retrieve the girl, and escape with in stow!" The giant threw Lilian aside, grasped Lynn, and teleported into a some spaceship-thing. A deafening roar erupted as the ship took off into am escape tunnel. Suddenly, it was rocked by an explosion on its side. Cole was seen pointing his 88 Fragnum at the ship, using his legendary precision to foil the God-King's plan. (16/12/14) Collateral Damage With the sheer power of the 88 Fragnum, the ship pretty much disintegrated instantly - when it impacted the walls of the chamber, it was nothing more than a clump of metal bits and combustion, crashing over the God-King as well. When the wreck finally came to a rest, the cockpit was the only part remotely intact ('intact' being relative). Lucy dragged the seemingly mangled body of Lynn out of the wreck, caring not about the inferno razing the chamber around her. After several tugs, Lucy wrested Lynn from Reeves' grasp, spat on the God-King's face and escaped with the other three. As they ran up the cave back to safer territory, a threating yet nondescript toar shook even the air of the cavern. (20/12/14) Fleeting Bliss The next hour or two passed in an anxiety-filled blur. Lynn being hauled up to the jet. A flight back to Wafflesvale. A sprint to the hospital. When Lucy and Lilian returned to their normal selves, Lynn was in the operating theatre for about three hours. Then, a nurse came out of the room. "Your sister... We had to...remove her left leg and part of her right. They were beyond repair from the impact - she might never walk again. Her upper body is fine, though." Lilian fainted from the shock. And so did Lucy. -At least 2 months later- Lucy and Lilian went to visit Lynn (still unconscious by now) like they did every day since that incident. They kept a vigil over her, waiting for the first sign of her waking. Then, Lynn stirred. Her eyes opened. "Lucy? Lilian?" "Lynn! You're awa-" "Get out. Please." "Huh? But Lynn-" "I said GET OUT!!" (22/12/14) Discord Lucy and Lilian fled, unsure of why Lynn would chase them out all of a sudden. Maybe she just needs a few days to cool off; she was just venting residual anger toward her captor on them, perhaps. "Let's give her some space. How about we wait a week, then visit her again?" Lilian suggested. Lucy readily agreed. The next week, though, when they went to the hospital, they were told (with lots of hesitation), "Lynn checked herself out yesterday. She did threaten to fling colostomy bags all over the hallway... And she left you this note." Lucy snatched the scrap of notebook paper from the bed she was assigned to. It read: 'Dear Lilian and Lucy, I don't even know why I'm writing this. You two would probably throw this piece of paper in the trash once you saw it. But I feel sorry enough - for your absolute lack of support for me - that I need to write this. Being the middle child, Mum and Dad never gave me any attention since Lucy came along. All my good achievements were overshadowed by Lilian's performances and Lucy's very existence. You two were so engrossed in your supposed fame and popularity that you ignored me, the girl who was once your sister, even as I openly declared my slow sink into depression. You probably thought, "Since Mum and Dad don't care too much, why should I?" Well, if you did, we would not be in this wreck. YOU made me the broken, self-loathing, talentless, ugly, crippled waste of space that I am now! By the time you read this, I'll already be outside of Wafflesvale - away from the two narcissistic girls who used to be my sisters. I don't care how depraved I become - I just want something that I can call my own, and not have you two usurp whatever infamy that may follow. Love, Lynn." (25/12/14) Blind Grief Lucy rushed out of the hospital, all flustered. For once, she had no idea what to do - not even in the slightest. Lilian followed her, and barely stopped her from thrashing a nearby dumpster in her aimless rage. "This is our fault, Lilian... OUR fault... And now Lynn's gone because of us..." Meanwhile, a lone figure trudged and limped through the Boredom Tundra. Her legs were mangled, and bandages covered mostly of her body, some still freshly stained with blood. She seemed to move knowingly, her final destination resolute. After several hours of agony and cursing, she finally reached the place... Lynn walked the best that crippled person could toward the God-King in his ruined throne room. "YOU..." "Do not be angry, Your Malevolence," Lynn said, making large efforts to convince him. "I no longer want anything good to do with Lucy and Lilian Aisse. In fact, being an Aisse myself is a great dishonour; Going against Your Malevolence's wishes is most unwise. Allow me to be your vengeance." "And you expect to serve me in your crippled and weak state?" Lynn was unfazed. "In this regard, I believe you may be able to grace me with your aid. With your advanced knowledge of technology and physiology, you can equip me with the tools you need to execute your revenge." The God-King pondered. He had not given this sort of power to any mortal before. "...Even though this is against my better judgment... Very well. You will be given the gift of carrying out my plans. I will use everything in my infirmary and arsenal to morph you into my perfect weapon of vengeance - make good use of them." (7/03/2015) Revelations Meanwhile, back in Wafflesvale... "L-Lucy, dinner's ready..." "Go away, Lilian." "But you haven't eaten anything for the last few days..." "I said GO AWAY!!" The sound of something shattering pierced the silence. Lilian complied with her demands yet again, leaving to eat alone. There were three plates on the table, but two were left untouched. As Lilian ate the increasingly tasteless food, she thought: Why? If Lynn really did feel neglected, why did she not express herself? How did neither her nor Lucy pick up even the slightest hint of distress from Lynn? Were they really that aloof that they couldn't notice thier sorrowful sister? Lilian stopped eating, and moved to Lynn's room. The door was often locked, unless Lynn was entering or leaving the room. But this time, the door was slightly open, as if Lynn decided that they should understand something. She swung open the door. At a glance, it was a completely plain bedroom, just a wardrobe, a bed, and a desk - if not for an entire wall or two filled with words. The words were small, scrambled in places, something like the walls being Lynn's personal diary. Lilian started to examine them. At first it just seemed like a recount of her everyday occurrences, until she saw a pattern of her letters: Smalls where capitals should be, extra letters, the like. She pieced the secret letter together: "I may have forgotten something more important than my homework or my textbook in school..." Lilian gasped. She knew what this meant. She ran to Lucy's room, determined to get her message across no matter what. "Lucy! There's something about Lynn you have to know!" "Lilian, leave me alone... I can't live with myself knowing we caused Lynn this much grief..." "Lynn's grief wasn't because of us! I found something about her in her room!" "Her room...?" Lucy opened the door, her body seemingly shattered and forcibly pieced together. "...make this quick." Lilian excitedly yanked Lucy to the room (which Lucy also never seen the inside of), and showed her the message. "Lynn is lost - in life. She forgotten who she was inside. She can't take anymore of this - she just wants to find herself again, even though she has no idea what to do." "I-I-I see... Hey, what's this..." She read out a tiny script near a corner. 'Who was it that threw those dreams down the drain? I think I know...' Lucy now fully understood what Lilian said, and started to think about Lynn. When Lynn was lashing out at them, her anger was directed toward herself. When she tried to isolate herself, it was to prevent others to get hurt by her resent. If she had to spiral into depression, nobody else deserved to be affected by it. Come to think of it, she never seen Lynn in a good mood before. "Lilian." "Yes?" "Please leave the room." Lilian complied again, this time rather willingly. Lucy kneeled before the walls of text. "Lynn, if you are listening... I now know how much you suffered. Even if it meant hurting others... Even If it meant hurting myself... I wish for you... To smile." (18/03/2015) Strife At least a whole month has passed since Lynn's disappearance. Despite Lilian's intense calmness and Lucy's manic optimism, the small seed of doubt - that something really bad has happened to Lynn - continued to grow, slowly invading their osyche, until an email appeared in Lucy's inbox... "If you really care about me, come to the tree where we used to 'play' as kids. Alone, or with Lilian." Eating breakfast at the time, Lucy pretty much swallowed her eggs and bacon, yanked Lilian from her seat and dashed towards Lynn's location. When she stopped at the tree, there was someone else there. Back turned, away from them. It was her alright. Lynn Aisse. However... "Lynn, you look...diff-" "Silence. Do not state the obvious." Lynn slowly turned around. She no longer looked human. Her skin was stone grey, as if she was violently resurrected and puppeteered. The parts of her body damaged in the crash, now completely metallic, made of machinery - a vile yellow energy swirling, pulsing within them. And whatever fear and hesitation she had was completely stripped away, leaving only her anger, her hate, completely overriding any sliver of joy that might have existed when she saw Lucy and Lilian again. "...Lynn, what happened to you? What's this about?" She smirked devilishly as her cybernetic eye began focusing onto her two targets. "Vengeance." Her half-organic right hand reached for the Vengeance machine pistol evidently holstered. "Haven't I made myself clear enough in the hospital? You two stole my future. I'm merely taking it back. With a little help from a greater power, of course." Lynn started to bring the pistol up to her eye level. The sound of Lynn tapping the pistol's trigger was enough to send Lilian into a complete breakdown, squeezing a still-stunned Lucy for desperate comfort. In her delirium, she blurted out, "Lynn, please! L-Lucy and I d-d-dinn't steal your future!" Lynn seemed to take that as an insult. "I saw what was in your room!" A pause. Lynn's trigger finger softened. Her room...? "We knew your room was filled with words on the walls... One day i read them and... I... Can understand your anger, now that I saw those words..." Lynn still held up her aggressive appearance, even though inside her, walls were falling. "Something made you lose who you were deep inside..." That sentence alone broke something in Lynn. Her arms went limp, and she nearly collapsed on the ground. "Actually, when you started shutting us out and locking yourself in your room, we were so worried," Licy tried to add in. "If you remember those times you returned to a wrecked living room, that was me raging over how I couldn't find a way to help you open up..." As Lynn's mind started to falter due to suddenly rececving so much emotion at once, Lilian cried out, "Lynn, let us help you refind yourself! We forgive you!" Forgive...me? Even after shutting them out...? Even after pinning the blame for her problems on them...? Even after attempting to ...kill...her...sisters...? All those thoughts thundered in her head, actually feeling a hint of positivity for the first time in... The Vengeance slipped from her grip. She stared at Lucy and Lilian. Two words flowed out like an avalanche. "I'm...sorry...!" Tears flowed uncontrollably from Lynn's remaining eye as she let this feeling overwhelm her. For so long she had not felt anything - the most was that false sense of freedom as she limped across the Boredom Tundra - that she completely forgotten what it was like to truly feel again. "Thanks, you two..." "You're our darling middle sister after all, Lynn," Lucy said, with renewed manic optimism. "We'll help you no matter-" Just then, Lynn felt all control over her body being ripped away. To Lynn the next few moments felt like a lifetime. The feeling of the Vengeance in her body's right hand. Two gunshots. Two bursts of red mist. The sound of two bodies hitting the ground. (24/03/2015) Vermillion Lynn simply stared at the red pool before her. There was no denying it. She killed her sisters. In cold blood. Maybe not in cold blood; She might not even have blood flowing in her anymore. As the smoke from the Vengeance's barrel fogged her view, memories returned. The way they were, as a part, not...apart. She would play those memories multiple times in her head, like some desperate prayer to make her agony end. But it all seemed like just a video, without any attachment anymore. However, this time, she swore that she saw the younger self of Lucy run up the hill, followed by Lilian. It took a bit longer for Lynn's younger self to appear, but she was just strolling instead of running. They would hide under the tree's shade and ramble on about what happened in school today, plans for the distant future, random stuff from their imagination. The smoke from the Vengeance was now long gone, but Lynn could still see her and her sisters chatting, laughing, teasing one another, all together. It was bliss. One that Lynn never felt in a long time, until just now - and it was gone. By her hand. This ripped her out of her memories, and back to the dusk. The peace that she lost, was gone again. Lynn pointed the Vengeance toward her chest. If her sisters were to go, she had to go with them. There is no more peace for her, anyway. Perhaps death will finally give respite. She laid her finger on the trigger, and whispered, "Beyond salvation..." A gunshot. Blackness. ... .. . "Oh, you. How could you even think of trying to thwart me?" The voice was rather terrifyingly familiar, but what scared Lynn more was that she was still hearing things. She took a direct bullet through the heart. Or wherever her heart should be. Then, sudden whiteness. Lynn was now in a place all too familar. It was the God-King's citadel, in all its icy horror. "I built you into MY weapon of VENGEANCE. In other words, I CONTROL YOU." Lynn pretty much figured this out once Lucy's body stopped bleeding, but she was still unable to react. She wanted to die, dammit... "In order to prevent other... Mishaps like this from happening again, I will implant a neurode-amplification system into your brain, allowing me to subvert any and all control you had over your body. Like just now, I could have made you pull the trigger the first time, but I couldn't send the damned signal due to a finger movement order being too weak for your current body to receive." Lynn could only listen, as she had no way to escape - he can just order her body to return to him. "Also, because I'm nefarious and you have no way of ruining this plan, I'll taunt you with how to resurrect your sisters! Just spill some immortal's blood - like mine - over them. It returns them to perfect health, at the age when they died. But, as said, YOU CANNOT DO IT BECAUSE I CONTROL YOU!" As the God-King proceeds to laugh maniacally, Lynn started to plan. Even if it was futile. The God-King spoiling the way to undo the sin she done has given her new motivation - and it all starts with an unusual way to ruin his dominance over her... (04/04/2015) Escape Lynn walked up to the still-hysterical God-King. He didn't notice her movement. She then lifted a fist, and took aim. Then, a squishing sound. Now, as all-powerful the God-King was, he didn't really prepare for an attack down there - in fact, it was left unprotected as some sort of mockery for his enemies. The laughter suddenly turned into yelling, shaking the walls of the cavern, shattering a few pillars and ornaments and maybe even conpletely destroying some rooms. It was glorious, and Lynn nearly let out a giggle of maniacal mischief. Lynn hit it a few more times just to be sure, each one harder than the last, then she bolted in the opposite direction. The God-King tried to will her body to return, but the indescribably intense pain caused him to be unable to even collect his thoughts slightly. He could only watch (through extremely squinted eyes) as his masterpiece ran out of his sight. She may have heard the God-King's ridiculously pained voice in her head and something about her never being able to flee or forever or something. Too busy running away to hear that, and she didn't want to hear it anyway. She had sisters to avenge, and eventually revive. After about half an hour of running, Lynn stopped near a tree. A patch of red, still glistening, was on its trunk. Two headstones, one adorned with a red flower and one blue, lay near it. Lynn sat down near them, and prepared herself for what had to be done. She gripped the external portion of her optic implant. A wave of pain, as if to dissuade her, pulsed into her arms. Although this was a bit discouraging, Lynn was still focused on what had to be done. She dug her fingers in between her skin and the implant, and started to pull. A wave of pain again, this time not only in her arms but also literallly in her mind. The God-King's voice made its way to Lynn once again. "FO...FOOLISH-urk-MORTAL! THAT WAS A VERY LOW BLOW...! *urk* YOU WILL BE RETURNED TO ME AS SOON AS-urgh...-I REGAIN FULL CONTROL..." Lynn pulled harder on the implant, trying her best to fight through the implant's anti-removal mechanisms, including the bursts of pain in her arms, along with the natural skin-tearing pain. She felt slight burrowing sensation in her forehead. "YOU DO KNOW THAT THESE IMPLANTS AND AUGMENTS ARE ALL THAT ARE KEEPING YOU ALIVE?!? DO NOT TEAR THEM OUT! YOU WILL DIE!" The booming voice in her head was easily ignored - she could now feel the implant peeling off her skin, but with every little movement from her skin, it seemed to hold tighter in her flesh, like her eyelids (if they were still there) being threatened with removal. Ugly removal. The burrowing sensation strengthened as she pulled. Lynn adjusted her grip to hold the implant better, the spikes on the back of the implant piercing into her fingers as she felt the last of the implant leave her face skin. Massive bursts of pain then erupted in Lynn's head, from the back slowly moving forward. With each eruption, the God-King's voice in her head grew weaker, filling her with some sort of vengeful justice as she simply continued pulling. "STO - T ONCE - ! Y ILL N -- DENY M -" In one final crimson surge, Lynn wringed the implant to the ground. Explosions of pain through her mind, near-paralysis in her arms - but it was out. The implant, and all the wires attached to it to her brain. The God-King could no longer directly control her. The other augments in her legs, hands - those were still needed. Even if the God-King could control them, the lack of direct brain control would severely hinder him. As she felt the spirit of Lucy and Lilian cheer her on from their headstones, Lynn brought one hand up to her left eye. It burned badly, may even be bleeding. But it was there. Underneath all those overly controlling augments, she was still present. And then she whispered... 'Maybe I'm not as lost as I thought.' (14/04/2015) Voracity As the pain subsided, Lynn took her hands off her left eye. Rather surprisingly, she could see quite well already. The neural implant just lay, slightly bloodied, on the ground. "Next, I should use this for... A better purpose." She picked it up, and then went to look for Cole. He was usually at a shooting range or at home, so that part was easy. As usual, Cole was fiddling with attachments for his 88 Fragnum, as well as crafting another few guns - they were rather obviously pistols, but how each one is different couldn't be seen. Lynn knocked on what could have been a slightly aged workshop door, to the sound of the door unlocking. Not risking a smell of whatever wierd stuff Cole could be working on, Lynn just spoke. "You interested in actually killing the God-King?" Any tinkering sound in there stopped. Cole slightly opened the door. "...Aren't you Lynn, Lucy's apparently missing elder sister? And why does your left eye seem so injured? Anyway, what you're talking about is pretty much bull-oney. Have you seen what kind of materials that guy uses as armour? Even my 88 Fragnum barely dented it. And no, I will-" "Maybe this will change your mind. Stole this from him, effectively." Lynn shoved the neural implant into Cole's house as far as she could reach. "Well, this is something different. Otherworldly. Since you said this was the God-King's, this might contain a clue on how to pierce through his defenses. But reverse-engineering this will take at least two weeks, if I put all my other-" Lynn stared into where she thought Cole would be. "Should I say how Lucy would react if this actually succeeds?" "...I-I meant two DAYS! Heck, that's at the absolute most! I'll get on it right away, Mada- I mean Miss!" The door shut, locked and then more than a few layers of steel covered the door, then the shed entirely. "...does he actaully live here?" No time to consider that, though. She had to get somewhere quiet to actually plan out how she will handle this atrocity. Somewhere like home. She entered. For some reason, the place was in perfect order - wierd. Lucy would probably cause so much damage to the house that just moving would be more prudent, especially considering how much Lynn's abandonment of her sisters affected her. She then made a beeline to her room. The walls were still covering in scrawlings - Lynn already forgot what she used to make them - but it was painful making them, she remembers. She tried her best to banish those haunting recollections and picked up a pen and some paper. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't get far without having to turn back and look at the writing in the walls. It was like some instinct, and an unnatural one at that. Each time she turned back, her eyes would run over a few words before she oulled herself back, and then an image would be washed into her mind related to those words. At first it could be just a small disturbance, but as she looked back more, the harder it is to keep those painful memories at bay, outside of her active mind. As she continued, the harder it was to even think about the task at hand at all, then... SNAP. THUD. Incomprehensible murmuring. Uncontrollable twitching. All the pain from the past surged and assaulted her mind, completely stopping Lynn from thinking. As she writhed, she relived several of those memories at once, and even if the slightest glimmer of hope appeared in there, those would be shattered and replaced with another instance of agony. A complete victim of her past, each flashback bombarded her with despair and hopelessness. After all the despair has finally rest for the time being, Lynn found herself paralysed on the floor, physically and emotionally. She struggled to breathe, even though her was lying on her side. Her mind was fixated on one thought - and a frighteningly familiar one at that. "LOST." When Lynn finally found enough stregth to get back on the chair, she knew she had to continue this plan. She looked at what she had written on the first piece of paper. Then, a sweeping motion, and the table now had nothing on it. The floor was a different story. For some reason Lynn stared at the blank tabletop. For some reason a reference about the tabletop and her life was thrown into her mind. For some reason, it just stuck there. Lynn smashed her head into the table, and stayed like that, motionless. Time passed. Lynn's head never left the table. The writing on the walls, Lynn felt, was now being etched onto her skin. Suddenly, a phone call. Lynn used all the strength she could to accept it and activate the speaker. She muttered something so that whoever is on the other side can hear. "Cole here, with some news. That thing you brought me, it was so easy to reverse engineer. I found out all its physical weaknesses - also a few schmatics saying that this is the same material used for armour, for what reason I don't know. Right now, I'm using all the parts I had lying on my 'Top Priority' desk to craft a really awesome gun. Make a few immortal heads into a Newton's cradle, willya? For Lillian, and Lucy, you know? If they're captured, free them! If they're dead, avenge them!... Wait, now how will I see Lucy's reaction..." Those names meant less to her than wiping those walls clean. Pfft. Cole... Newton... Lillian..- Lillian, and Lucy? The sound of two gunshots rang in her head. Two bodies hit the ground. She killed them. Willingly. BANG. Lynn's head hit the wardrobe to the right of the table. BANG. Another head hit. BANG. In Lynn's mind, the bodies of her sisters on the ground shown itself. Despair starts again. With each replay of their deaths, a bit more into the past it seemed to show. Them falling, blood gushing from their wounds, down. The gunshots that made those wounds. An action that was not her own... Wait. Lillian saying something- "Let us help you refind yourself!" At that time, those words... They were like a sweet pill, one that heals while keeping her joyous. Now, it felt... "Lillian... Lucy Something seemed to gather force in her chest. "You really are... The force started to become unbearably strong. "My salvation..." It now seemed to creep up her spine. "I WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!!!" With that, the force shot upward, like a heaven-piercing drill, obliterating all the dark thoughts in her head, and locked itself around her neck, as if to prevent her from looking back at the wall writing. THOUGH THEY MAY BE GONE, I BELIEVE IN MY SISTERS WHO BELIEVE IN ME!!!" She scooped up some paper, slammed it on the table, and brought her mind, pen and heart at the ready. "This despair will stop," Lynn constantly said (and sometimes accidentally yelled) while she outlined as many weaknesses the God-King may have as she could find. Leaving her dark and aimless past behind her, she focused entirely on the future, one where she can live at peace with her sisters, and more importantly, herself. (03/09/2015) The Reprisal Daylight. Near-noon-light, to be more precise. Lynn groggily wakes up, drooling over her desk, and a few pieces of paper. Luckily, graphite does not run. Rather quickly coming to, she quickly reformed the anti-God-King tactics in her mind, hastily freshened herself up, and sprinted outside. It was time to kill some demigods, but obviously she needs a weapon. Cole should be finished by now. When she reached Cole's house, the front door pretty much collapsed by itself. "SUCCESS!" Cole popped up from behind his couch, holding a pistol. Lynn recognised it as the one she let him 'play' with. "So, what's new?" "I introduce to you...THE PENETRATOR." Lynn glared rather disapprovingly. "Seriously? That's what you went with?" "It was either Penetrator or Godhand. I shoddily declare the weapon name's poetic justice-" "Just...show me what you improved on." Within three seconds, the entire front wall of Cole's house was reduced to dust. And the pistol was still ballistics-based. "...at least I don't have to pay homeowner's tax. Additionally, the divine energies I somehow channeled into the gun can sense the user's condition on the battlefield, and adapt accordingly. I modified it to reward recklessness, because I can't find any other subroutines." "This works, I guess..." "Don't be so down. Not only does it sap your drive, the Penetrator can't penetrate properly with a hesitant user. Find the motivation within yourself, don't let your dreams be dreams, yada yada yada inspirational gibberish I'm definitely not a therapist." Lynn walked away from Cole's property, Penetrator in hand. Aside from his modifications, Cole scribbled some choice words pretty much everywhere; it looked more like a back-alley gang's pistol than the immensely powerful hand cannon it is. Even after a personal demonstration, Lynn still doubted her current capability to take down the God-King. It was all she had, however, and started the journey across to the Boredom Tundra yet again. During the rather featureless (and admittedly enemy-assisted) trek back to the menace's lair, Lynn thought about the past few chapters in her life. In a few short months she had been taken, madea slave, lashed out against her saviors, betrayed them in blood, and now she's trying to resuscitate them. Well, she didn't have much of a choice about the first 'taken' bit, but why did she reject her sisters at all? Some dumb popularity contest? Or maybe she was just unsure about herself, and took it out on them as they were the only ones that seemed to care. This train of thought fixated Lynn until she bumped head-first into the cave that lef to the God-King's lair. She held that thought as she descended into the indigo depths. Somehow not slipping at all, she strode into the Ice Bastion. The God-King still seemed a bit uncomfortable from the low blow he suffered. "You very well know what I'm here for." The God-King suddenly focused on Lynn like a missle. "If it is your absolute demise, I will gladly oblige. I'm sure your sisters miss you..." "Shut up." Smirking under a helmet, having discovered such a large weakness in her so soon, the God-King continued. "Oh, but I'm also sure they miss you solely to pummel you in the afterlife. You did pull the trigger on them..." "...that was you..." "But you did want to kill them, isn't that why you literally crawled here while you were still human?" "..." "But of course. You're an amalgation of human and machine, made only to follow - regardless of whether the human wants to..." At that point, something in Lynn died, yet revived. The God-King's words resonated in her mind, wanting to steal her of her voice, and replacing it with desperation. And while it seemed to have an effect, in her mind the words were starting to shrink, until it practically vanished, but not before it took her emotions, morals with it into the singularity. there was only one thing in her mind now. And that is purpose. Regardless of method, she will extract the God-King's blood and seal this evil away. "It seems our brave little toaster here has broke. Shall I see you into the grave?" Echoes, and silence. Suddenly, an eruption of azure, and the God-King was thrown off his throne. Lynn gazed through gunsmoke at the shattered throne. The God-King then burst through the wreck, bellowing furiously. "I will not go down with a simple gunshot, especially not from one who murders her own family!" Lynn responds with an empty glare, and a perfectly lined-up shot ready to go. Lynn fired once again, but the God-King barely dodges. A part of the deiling crashes down, covering the floor with diamond-like shards of ice. The Penetrator was still aimed perfectly at the God-King's forehead. The God-King thrusts pikes of ice at Lynn's position, but she leapt, defying her human appearance, nearly to the ceiling's height, before taking another shot which let her latch onto a nearby pillar. It hit the God-King's shoulder, staggering him long enough for Lynn to fire again safely. Ducking, the shot hit the ceiling again, but the falling ice chunk caught the God-King under it. "I see my augmentations have done you well. This is what I made you for, minus the part about my demise!" Lynn still glared silently at the God-King. The augmentations were surely helping, but what really let her unlock their full potential was something the God-King could not understand - at least not yet - and Lynn was not going to tell him. In the moment of action, her voice seems to have turned itself off, out of some form of duty. She fires at the floor directly in front of the God-King while sliding down the pillar, sending him flying again. This time, however, he regained his composure in the air. "But you are still merely my toy, to mess with!" The God-King summoned a gauntlet of frozen boulders, and dropped them on Lynn like oversized hail as she sped toward him, each about as big as a cupboard, some bigger. However, she raced through the boulders even as they abruptly changed trajectory, some having to be shot, but mostly a frighteningly impressive display of agility and reflexes. Aghast, the God-King stood still as Lynn slammed into him in the lower chest, causing him to roll over Lynn. And as he pciked himself up, Lynn still seemed unfazed by any of this. "I don't get it! Your mind was supposed to at least be fatigued by now!" The same empty glare met the God-King. "Very well..." With a mighty heave, the God-King broke the pillars holding his precious bastion in place and primed them like torpedoes, pointing at Lynn. The whole structure started to rumble violently. "I may not know what drives you to wield such power, but I will not let anyone emerge triumphant above me! If I perish, my assailant shall perish alongside me!" (14/10/2015) The Radiance Lynn was now caught between having a greater chance of ending the God-King and ensuring her survival. In fact, she has not even extracted any of his divine blood yet. However, the floating pillar bits the God-King was prepared to launch gave her an idea. She started running toward the exit. "Do you think it would really be this easy?!?" A pillar block came hurtling toward her. She deftly rolled to dodge it, shifting her weight so that she returns facing to God-King. As she came into optimal shooting angle, he was starting to fling another block, the block mere inches away from his exposed face. Perfect. She fired a volley of bullets into the back of the block, causing it to shatter. Due to the ice taking the weight of the bastion, it had to be a lot harder - so it was more like glass. And like glass, it makes sharp edges when hit. Sharp edges hurt. The ice shards flew into the God-King's face, causing him to drop the pillar. His face was unscathed, though. But that was not what Lynn was looking for. With a clear shot and a relatively large time window of safety, she ran closer to the God-King, and double-tapped in the direction of his face while running. Two spurts of blood, as Lynn had planned. She then whipped out a good old Ziploc bag, and caught nearly its volume in blood. Mission accomplished. However, she was now left dangerously far from the exit, and the God-King is going to be very angry. However, with his mind still locked on holding the pillar blocks, Lynn started sprinting toward the exit, reloading in the process. As the weight of the surrounding rocky cavern started to break through the weakened ceiling, the entire bastion shook as if it was caught in a violent earthquake, causing rocks to fall from the cavern above into the bastion. Although she was still in her altered state of mind, the sheer aount of energy used is starting to catch up to her. She started fumbling, diving hastily sometimes to avoid falling rocks and ice, taking longer to react to hazards, and actually showed the smallest bit of desperation... To which the God-King exploited for that small second, and crashed a circular barrier of rocks and ice around Lynn, with a pillar block sealing the top. Any gunshot will cause the pillar block to collapse onto her, and if not she will be buried under immeasurable amounts of earth. She failed to react quickly enough. Outside the barrier, she could hear a muffled, sinister laugh. Punctuated by the sounds of a bubbling liquid. Of course it's his divine, vitality-laden blood. It can be used to undo the wrong that Lynn has done. But now that - wait... ...vitality-laden... She doesn't know how powerful this pouch of stuff is, but if it really works the way the God-King accidentally told her so, it better be very powerful. She swallowed a few drops, trying not to contaminate and taste it. Probably because it was just a sip, she didn't feel 'OMGSOHYPER' or 'default Lucy', but the energy boost was definite, to say the least. This burst of energy made her feel a little bullet time, and she rolled off a few gunshots into the barrier. As expected, the pillar block started to slide into the barrier, but Lynn dropped instantaneously into a supine position, fired some shots while crawling forward, thrusting her forward and out of the trap. She could feel the block nearly tap her on the toes as it fell. Quickly regaining composure, she started running toward the exit again, being able to shoot hazards out of the air as they fell. The rumbling floor was an even greater danger to her than the God-King. She only slowed down when her body was safely beyond the cracked ice of the bastion, but her job was not quite finished yet. Turning back, she knew that she had already won, the God-King was just in denial, and all that stuff because of that litle tidbit Cole said: "I modified it to reward recklessness..." and "I'm definitely not a therapist." Knowing better than to dive back into the seriously damaged bastion, she did, and while she was in the air, body flat and only holding the Penetrator out, she emptied the it in the God-King's general direction. He was running into the inner reaches of the bastion, where he could possibly regenerate where the geology was not an issue. True to Cole's advice, the gun somehow angled itself minutely at every shot, hitting the God-King twice in each leg, thrice in his spine and once into his pelvis. Furthermore, each seemed to hit a vital spot (especially that pelvis shot), debilitating him long enough for a few boulder-like rocks to fall onto him. His head was trapped outside, and he seemed to give Lynn a death glare as his bastion started to collapse over him. He couldn't yell because even divine beings have lungs, and lungs don't work properly when overly compressed. And at that moment of air-deprived demise, the God-King somewhat understood how he was able to lose to his own creation, unlike all the other ones. This one, instead of using negativity to fight against him, used hope. Blind, pure hope. The God-King thrives on that kind of negativity - anger, fear, much like he could trap Lynn just then - but when their minds are filled with hope and the like, his powers are severely hampered. And for Lynn, that hope manifested in what they call sociopathy. She was not affected by his terrifying visage because at the time, she could not perceive terror. It was blotted out by that humane hope of hers- Before the God-King could continue, two bullets met the God-King's face, possibly to finish the job. The bastion filled with earth and rock soon after. Lynn climbed out of the nondescript cave, the midnight sky greeting her. Gazing at the pouch of red stuff she clenched, the final step awaits. She started running again. Tired from the battle, her mind was mostly empty on her way back to the tree. When she reached the tree, she did all in her power to not have her hands tremble wildly as she exhumed her sister's graves. Decomposition was probably very close to starting, and the holes in their bodies from her mistake were wide open. She first forced Lilian's cold, grey lips open and dumped about half the pouch into her mouth, then propped her up against the tree. Nothing instant. Now even more desperate, she dug out Lucy's body, squeezed every last bit of blood into her mouth and propped her up like Lillian. Still nothing. Perhaps as much vitality the blood had, it can't resurrect people. Feeling a wave of disbelief wash over her, she pulled her sisters' bodies, slightly frighteningly sorrowlessly, back into the ground. She stared at them one last time before she prepared to move the dirt back over them. Then... "...huh? H-Hey! Which nitwit's trying to bury me alive?!? Wait, I shouldn't have just yelled that-" That was undeniably Lucy. And then... "...zzz...uh? What's - I don't remember lying down in dirt...only a gunshot and such...and there are worms here, ew..." And that's Lilian. Lynn was now panicking, but relieved. Indescribably relieved. "Hold on, I'll get you two out...!" After a slightly messy extraction and filling of holes, the three sat on the grass, the soothing predawn air being something all of them haven't felt in a while. "So, uh, sorry for...shooting you two..." "It's alright Lynn," Lilian said as if nothing much happened. "It's alright." "But...you two died, holes straight through the chest, and now you're here again due to unnatural causes...I couldn't help it...I needed to repent somehow..." "Nonsense. You don't need to repent if the vic - I mean, recipient doesn't hold anything against you, moron." "How could you forgive me if I killed you-" "Listen. If you don't forgive yurself, I REALLY won't forgive you. Comprendo?" "...Okay..." "Besides, we knew that the God-King was pulling your strings at that moment. Didn't make the shots hurt less though." "So we can't hold it against you. And I think you seriously risked your life trying to get...whatever it was that resurrected us." At that moment, the sun started to rise, bathing the trio in its first rays. Lucy and Lilian noticed something. "Look, Lynn, Your hair...and irises as well!" She grabbed a scruffy lock and looked at it. The silver-grey that she somewhat hated so much was gone. It was now tinted a verdant green, like liquid emerald. "...I don't remember...the last time..." "Feel free to call me out on my bullshit later, but it might be indicative of your spiritual rebirth or something. Green being life-colour or so. Then again, it was green until it wasn't." Lynn reflected in silent wonder. This was not about her getting her sisters back, but of her finding herself again. Her lack of direction caused her misery, and manifested physically as stripping the green from her hair and eyes. Even though the process was undoubtedly unenjoyable, she could have continued the way she was. At that point, it might have been too late. But the doomsday scenarios don't matter, only in hindsight at least. And she can't just dwell on the past, there's stuff to be done. Lynn didn't even notice herself tearing up, and her sisters wouldn't want to distract her. Finally, she emerged from her reflection, seeming a little brighter than before. "Alright...I'm alright... ...rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." "You mean ours, Lynn. We're one band of sisters again, and let's keep it that way." "Couldn't have said it better myself, Lily. Now, could we please get some food? Being dead really makes one hungry, with a lack of a digestive system and all that." There was laughter until Lynn realised that she was late to the ice cream parlour. Category:Blog posts